Posted on 05/17/2009 2:06:27 PM PDT by forkinsocket
KHASAB, Oman — The mountains here are solid rock, flint-colored jagged peaks slicing through the haze and dust of intensely hot days. The old Dhori family home is at the top of one unforgiving peak, a single room made of stone. No electricity, no water, a doorway as small as a window, one narrow dark room and a dirt floor.
That was what the Dhoris knew for generations. Then the present ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, staged a coup against his father, and the Dhori family came down to the valley. Sultan Qaboos provided water and electricity, and over the next 39 years transformed a country that had been hermetically sealed into a modern state.
For the older generations, that is more than enough. But like the rest of the Middle East, Oman has a very young population, a generation that did not experience the deprivations of the not-too-distant past. They are generally educated and aware. They want political change, rule of law, freedom of speech, institutions, a voice.
As a whole, Oman is a rare success story in the modern Middle East, a nation that has managed to navigate the shoals of modernity while holding onto its traditional identity. It has oil wealth, but its people still know the value of work.
But it is also an example of why authoritarian systems, no matter how benevolent and right minded, eventually rub up against the human desire for justice and self-determination.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So who speaks Oman? Better send them some history. It ain’t democracy you want. You better book up before you start voting or it AMERICAN IDOL FOR YOU.
I think they speak Arabic like other Arabs do. :)
Yeah but Oman was funny.
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